Following tryout engagements in Delaware, Washington and Boston, it opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 25, 1976, and closed June 5, 1976, after 14 previews and 49 regular performances.
[1] It is remembered for being a rare instance of a Richard Rodgers flop, and for being one of the early Broadway appearances of actress Glenn Close, her first in a musical.
[5] Rex had its Canadian premiere in February 2010, in a newly revised version by Sheldon Harnick and Sherman Yellen, presented at the Fairview Library Theatre in Toronto.
[6] In this revised version, the songs "So Much You Loved Me," "Dear Jane" and "Tell Me, Daisy" which were cut from the original production, were restored, as was Henry's eleventh hour musical soliloquy "The Pears of Anjou."
Act One opens in 1520 at the Field of Cloth of Gold in Calais, France, a peace treaty organized by Cardinal Wolsey, Archbishop of York.
Edward is now a child of 10, Elizabeth is a healthy young woman and, joined by their half-sister, Mary, they celebrate “Christmas at Hampton Court.” Francis of France arrives to discuss the terms for peace at the holiday and brings Henry a gift: pear trees from Anjou, a rare fruit which comes to fruition once every ten years.
Edward ascends to the throne, but in a final tableau, we see Henry's realization and acceptance that Elizabeth will become the great ruler that he had always wanted to bequeath to England.